Air shock closure valve



Dec. 24, 1963 R. 0. CLARK AIR sHocK cLosuRE VALVE Filed Sept. 8, 1961 -INVENTOR. R mbar D. Clark.

s 4 5 6 '7 a 77'ne In Mf/beconds United States Patent O 3,115,155 AIR SHOCK CLOSURE VALVE Robert Clark, 7 Rigdon Road, Aberdeen, Md. Filed Sept. 8, 1961, Ser. No. 136,961 1 Claim. (Cl. IS7-512.3) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposeswhithout the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an air shock closure valve and more particularly to a means for instantly blocking a verb tilation system to blast waves.

The present invention consists of a spring valve member clamped on one edge to a cushioned seat. The spring valve member is normally curved away from its clamped edge so that when the member is forced against its seat, it will close one or more holes through both the cushion and the surface on which the seat is secured.

It is a prime object of this invention to provide a means for preventing air shock from entering a bomb shelter or the like through a Ventilating system.

Another object of hte invention is to provide a valve capable of restraining blast waves of great magnitude.

A further object of this invention is to provide a reliable air closure valve which is both simple and inexpensive of construction.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a rugged valve which will not wear through use.

A inal object of this invention is to provide a valve which requires no maintenance.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent in the following description of the annexed drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional View of the invention showing two valves in series; and

FIG. 2 is a graphic representation of the operation of the valve of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 there are shown two shock closure valves placed in series between the walls of a duct or like ventilator 11.

One valve system is indicated generally by 12 and consists of a partition 13 having a ventilation hole 14. A cushion 15 is mounted on the outer end of partition 13 which is provided with a hole 16 mating with hole 14. A spring valve 17 is secured on cushion 15 by a strip 18 and fastened by a screw 19.

The valve system of FIG. 1 is indicated generally by 20.

Valve 17 is much thicker than valve 17a and holes 14a and 16a are larger than holes 14 and 16.

Valve 17 is the high range portion of the valve system of FIG. 1 and will close only when the impinging pressure approaches the limit of that which can be applied to valve 17a and openings 14a and 16a. The smaller opening and thicker spring on the valve 12 give superior strength and are effective for air shocks of extremely large magnitude. The selection of the material for the spring and reinforced orifices will determine the range of pressures which the valve can withstand.

ICC

FIG. 2 is a graphic representation of the operation of the valve. Two air shocks of 10 and 20 p.s.i. were applied to the valve face-on. The actual pressures experienced by the valves were 25 and 63 p.s.i. respectively due to a pressure reflecting phenomena which causes a marked increase of reflected pressure over the original air-shock pressure experienced by any surface which receives a face-on air shock. The reflected pressure of 25 p.s.i., shown by the solid line, actuated the valve in less than 2.5 milliseconds While the 63 p.s.i. pressure, shown by the broken line, caused the valve to close approximately l millisecond after the air shock hit the valve. The asymptotic fluctuations in pressure shown after the valve had closed are due to reverberations of the air shock Within the valve.

Other variations and modifications may be expected without departing from the scope of the novel concept of the present invention as set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An air shock closure valve for blocking a Ventilating system to blast waves comprising in combination, a duct; a tirst partition having an opening therethrough and disposed in said duct; a first cushion secured to the outer side of said partition and having an opening mating with said opening in said iirst partition; a first, normally open, outwardly curving, spring valve located upstream with respect to the blast pressure and secured at its outer edge to the outer surface of said iirst cushion and adapted to atten toward said first cushion to close said openings in said first cushion and partition in response to impingement of pressure from a blast on its outer surface thereof; a second partition having an opening therethrough and disposed in said duct and arranged in spaced relation with said first partition; a second cushion secured to lthe outer surface of said second partition, said second cushion having an opening mating with said opening in said second partition; and a second, outwardly curving, normally open spring valve secured, at its outer edge, to the outer surface of said second cushion and adapted to flatten toward said second cushion and close said opening in said second cushion and partition in response to impingement of pressure from a blast on its outer surface thereof, said openings in said cushions and partitions being of a predetermined diameter and the thickness of said spring valves being of a predetermined gauge whereby said irst valve closes only when the pressure of a blast is of a greater magnitude than that required to close said second valve, said valves resuming their curved, open positions upon cessation of blast pressure.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 351,121 Meyer Oct. 19, 1886 '1,029,726 Sprado June 18, 1912 2,217,380 Pedder Oct. 8, 1940 2,864,394 Hempel Dec. 16, 1958 3,015,342 Price Jan. 2, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 790,715 Great Britain Feb. 12, 1958 

